Self-Assessment Color Review of Rabbit Medicine and Surgery

This new addition to the Veterinary Self-Assessment Color Review series aims to cover all aspects of rabbit medicine. Questions cover areas such as anaesthesia, biology and husbandry, handling and restraint, infectious diseases, dermatology, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, ophthalmology, urinary tract, oral cavity/oesophagus, GI tract, metabolic disease, reproductive disease, musculoskeletal disease and dental problems. All the contributing authors are experienced practitioners with many years experience of dealing with rabbits. Over 200 illustrated clinical cases are presented randomly and contain integrated questions and detailed explanatory answers. The book will appeal to professionals in practice and in universities, to veterinary students, veterinary nurses and technicians.
This text is one of a number of Self-Assessment Color Reviews (SACR). Like all SACR's it is designed to cover, in brief, many topics relevant to the primary subject matter. A page of questions, sometimes associated with a color photograph, is presented with the answers on the back of that page. Since one to three questions are on each page, the answers are necessarily short and to the point.
When I think of the format of the SACR, I liken it to the photographic case studies presented in the Compendium of Continuing Education series (Veterinary Learning Systems) and the self-assessment at the end of Atlas of Canine and Feline Dental Radiography. For a person like me, self-assessments represent a learning experience wrapped in fun.
SACR of Rabbit Medicine And Surgery takes the concept of self testing one step further. There are questions that cover basic diet/husbandry, clinical techniques, laboratory assessment, clinical medicine, clinical behavior, and surgery. In my opinion, Drs. Keeble and Meredith (both from the University of Edinburgh) and a handful of other contributors from the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States have presented within this SACR a text worth reading from cover to cover.
I have read this text thoroughly once and have re-read portions. The author's state up-front that the book is based on personal experience and opinion. There are questions I would have answered somewhat differently, based on my experience and opinion, however this was rare. There are cases where I learned something new. A perfect example is the case of splenomegaly (case 25). I have never encountered this presentation.
The text contains 204 questions, an index, and quick reference in the beginning of the text that organizes the questions into subject matter. If I could have added one thing to this text, it would be a list of suggested reading. However, even without this reading list, the text stands out as an excellent SACR and a great addition to the library of veterinarians interested in rabbit medicine and surgery. Veterinarians new to rabbit medicine and surgery will benefit greatly, and experienced rabbit veterinarians can test their knowledge and learn more at the same time.
I wholeheartedly recommend this text to all veterinarians with an interest in rabbits. The cost of the text is worth every penny.